NF Hero Races in Soap Box Derby

Great article on NF Hero Kevin Martin's Racing4Research fundraising effort with his soap box derby car.  Check out the awesome CTF livery on his racer.  Great work helping us to Fuel The Cure, Kevin!

LENOX Tools to honor the life of NF Hero Pete Dingeman at New Hampshire NASCAR race

LENOX Tools, Richard Childress Racing, and Jeff Burton will honor the life of NF Hero and LENOX Extra Mile Hero Pete Dingeman at the NASCAR Sprint Cup LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27. 

In recognition of Pete's heroic efforts on behalf of CTF and NF research, a decal honoring Pete will be placed on the No. 31 paint scheme, and the 2010 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 will be dedicated to him. 

#14 CTF GT3 is now an official Fathead!

Fathead has created an official Fathead wall graphic of the #14! Fathead is donating a quantity of the #14 wall graphics to CTF and ALL profits from the sales will go to CTF - so BUY ONE TODAY!

2010 Rolex 24 Images

Giving Thanks

It will be few more days until we have a final total for this year's Racing4Research fundraising effort - we're still adding up the money raised from our race day parties and awaiting checks that are in the mail.

In the meantime, we need to offer our sincere thanks and gratitude to the remarkable people that made this year's Racing4Research effort a reality. First, and foremost, thanks to team owner Gordon Friedman and his amazing crew from Autometrics Motorsports.  Gordon opened his team to CTF and we immediately felt like we were home.  The team did an amazing job on the #14 Porsche GT3 and we finished the 24-hour race for a second straight year - a pretty remarkable feat in the endurance racing world.

Thanks to Frank Resciniti, our crew chief for the second straight year (and they guy who deserves a lot of credit for getting us to the checkered flag again!)  Frank is a huge supporter of R4R and our NF Hero families and his determination and commitment to our program is evident in every lap we completed.

Last, but hardly least, we need to thank our amazing drivers.  These are the guys that take the energy and strength from our NF Hero families and translate it into keeping the car on the track for 24 straight hours.  Red-eyed and weary, our drivers gave everything they had to make sure that our families had a car on the track at the end of the race. Daniel Graeff, Glen Gatlin, Seth Thomas, and Ron Yarab - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Final Stats

The Children's Tumor Foundation #14 finished 15th in class and completed 611 laps which, I do believe, is a new record for the Racing4Research team! Many thanks to everyone for following along, for raising much needed money for NF research and for your race day parties throughout the country.  We'll let you know the final tally when we know but whether we got to $300,000 or not we have ensured that a great deal of funds will be put in the hands of some of the best reseachers in the world to help find treatments and a cure for neurofibromatosis, and that's what we're all about.

More pictures, video and some final thoughts on the race tomorrow, thanks again to everyone, hope you enjoyed the race!

Less than 15 Minutes Left!

And just moments ago the Children's Tumor Foundation #14 car went over 600 laps! The car's battered and there's duct tape all over it but it's still running along.  We're 15th in class and Ron Yarab, a doctor who sees patients with NF, is behind the wheel to bring it home!

Down in the Pits

One of the best parts of the Rolex 24 experience is going down to the pit and seeing where the magic happens (or where the sausage is made depending on your perspective). The smell of burnt rubber permeates the entirety of the area and a certain camaraderie bonds everyone in the pits. To be in the pits is to feel like you're part of something greater.

I was down there about an hour ago when Glen Gatlin was taking over for Daniel Graeff during a driver change. At this point the crew and the drivers are all pretty tired but when Daniel pulled up everyone was all business. Daniel hopped out, patted Glen on the back as he jumped in, the crew dropped the car and the #14 car was gone.

The Great Save

Video interview with driver Glen Gatlin describing his experience as the left front ball-joint failed at 170 mph with 3 hours left in the race.  The Autometrics Motorsports team quickly replaced the damaged parts, spending just 30 minutes in the pits.

The Pits!

Back on Track

After an earlier tire problem that took the car off the track, the Children's Tumor Foundation #14 is back and humming along behind the capable hands of Daniel Graeff.  After 486 laps we're 15th in class and still competing, no small feet when you consider all the cars that have packed it in (10 by my count).

We were just in the pits and had an opportunity to speak with Autometrics crew member Mac McGehee.  McGehee said the team is happy with how the car has performed mechanically.  The tire issue forced the car into a side bank and the ensuing crash required a fender and radiator replacement as well as some power steering issues.  Otherwise they've had some problems with the alternator but this is not uncommon when you have a car traveling for the better part of 20 hours.

Pics from the pit:

If You Can't Stand The Waiting

If you're like me and you're up late and need to know what's happening at the track, check out Grand-Am's live timing and scoring page - check out the GT Class and look for #14 to see how we're doing throughout the night.  SPEED's live television coverage begins again at 7:00 AM EST.

A Different Perspective

Garrett suggested I share some pix from my travels with our team spotter trying to solve a communications issue.  We took a trip to the spotter's perch high atop the Sprint Tower, on top of the big grandstand along the front stretch of the superspeedway.  We ended up resolving the communications issue and I enjoyed the unique chance to watch the #14 from such a great location.  Pretty cool...

That's the #14 crossing the finish line

More Pictures

The rainy grid just before the start of the race

CTF drivers (l-r): Ron Yarab, Daniel Graeff, Seth Thomas, Glen Gatlin

From the pits - driver Daniel Graeff gets ready for his first stint in the #14

Crew chief Frank Resciniti discussing strategy

and for our McDreamy fans... George speaking with Patrick Dempsey

Live Rolex 24 Standings

Can be found here by clicking on the green icon on the right hand side.  These standings are substantially more difficult to find than one might expect, hence the post.  No word yet on exactly what happened to the car but it seems that it was just a spin-out as we're back on the track and have just closed to 9 laps behind the leader.

Fireworks in the near future, hopefully not for the car (knocking on wood).   Another great Rolex 24! Be back soon.

We Break, Our Drivers Don't (Often)

Our NF Heroes and their families have mostly made their way back to their hotels for some down time after an exciting day.  We didn't get to walk the car out to the start grid, as is normally the case, due to the inclement weather.  This was unfortunate as this is usually a very emotional time where our drivers and NF Heroes get one last chance to cheer one another on before the race.  And as our group is so big this year -- well over 100 people between the Heroes, their families, our sponsors, and the drivers -- it would've made a truly great impression.  But, there's always next year for that part of the Rolex 24.

As for the race the Children's Tumor Foundation #14 car is currently in 19th place and has yet to encounter any major technical difficulties.  Oh, wow, actually as I wrote that Glen Gatlin spun out, not sure what the issue was/is.  I'm going to look into it and will return.

Green Flag!

The rain's subsided, the green flag is out and the Children's Tumor Foundation #14 GT3 is  flying around the track in front of us.  We're steps away from the track and the noise is astounding.  Think of the last time you heard a Harley motor down an otherwise quite neighborhood street, now imagine standing an arms length away while 100 more pass by directly behind and you'll get the sense of what it's like.  Some people wear ear plugs but for me it's part of this unique experience, it's part of the race.  Of course tomorrow my head'll be pounding and my ears'll be ringing but just like the drivers and the NF Heroes, I'll endure.

Pictures to come.

It's Raining on Our Parade

But nobody seems to mind.  We're warm and dry in the Pit Road Patio but it's coming down hard out there.  We just got some good news that NBCsports.com is interested in publishing an article on the R4R story.  We'll keep you up on further developments.

We're only a couple minutes away from the start of the Rolex 24, hope you can watch at home on SPEED, if not we'll have all the latest news as it comes in.

One for Princess

In one of the posts below passionfruitprincess commented and signed her name Brenda McCool.  Brenda's an NF Hero and it just so happened I took a picture of Brenda's name on the car!  Enjoy Brenda, hope you like.

Please feel free to share your story or ask questions in the comments.  I'll do my best to respond and fulfill any requests.  Happy race day!

Thoughts from the Drivers before the Rolex 24

Last night we had a chance to get a couple thoughts from Glen Gatlin, Ron Yarab, and Daniel Graeff ahead of the Rolex 24.  We didn't get a chance to catch up with Cory Friedman, our qualifying driver because, well, his wife and he are mere hours away from bringing their second child into the world in South Carolina (good luck to the Friedman's on this joyous occasion).  He's going to try to race down tomorrow and catch the end of the Rolex 24

Due to Cory's absence the Children's Tumor Foundation #14 GT3 will start at the back of the pack, as the rules dictate that the qualifying driver must be the starting driver or the team is penalized by starting in the back of the field.  Oh well, the Rolex 24 is a marathon, not a sprint, and this race will not be won in the 1st, 100th, 200th or even 500th lap.  The drivers were certainly cognizant of that fact when we spoke with them last night:

Ron Yarab, MD
"The 24 Hours is the pinnacle of motorsports and our goal is to survive and drive our race.  We're not racing against other cars, we're racing against the clock.  We need to keep it together and endure, like the children and families who live with NF, because like them, we're in it for the long-haul."

Glen Gatlin
"We're all so excited to be able to race for something other than ourselves.  Our goal is to race to win as we see the children race to win against NF."

Daniel Graeff
"There's something amazing about racing the Rolex 24 with the support of the kids and their families.  Something magical happens that makes the drivers better, the crew better and the car better.  There's no greater honor than racing for these kids."

On a personal note, that's what each drivers said when I asked them for their thoughts on the race.  I didn't ask them for their thoughts on Racing4Research or racing for the Children's Tumor Foundation, that's the kind of people we're fortunate enough to have behind the wheel for us today.

Godspeed, indeed.